Cait and a Criminal
by ParfaitPie
Summary: Caitlyn has been living her life, with the law and her rifle by her side, she's gradually cleaning the city from all kinds of criminals, wielding a clear sense of justice. It changes forever from the moment she meets a masked outlaw, making her sense of justice go dim.
1. Vanilla Cupcake

The evening breeze made Caitlyn's hat fall as she stopped to see the hour, the woman went and picked it up while mumbling some incomprehensible curse.  
She put it on the top of her head and took a moment to look around.  
Her neighbourhood was pretty far from downtown, it was still a very busy district though.  
With dozens of tall buildings all around, and some luxury stores on front of them, filled with all kinds of expensive technology, jewelry and clothing.  
She thought for a minute and started heading towards the street corner, to the Blue Cafe, her favourite place in the city

"I deserve this" she thought while waling down the street. "The day was very long and I haven't eaten anything since breakfast, I totally deserve this"

The place made the best desserts in town, and Caitlyn had been looking for tasting a new vanilla-flavored cupcake that a friend had told her about a few days ago.  
She twisted the handle and went inside, ringing the bell above the door.

"Hey Doug" she greeted the tall man that stood behind the wooden counter.

"Hello Cait, how was your day?" he answered while cleaning the conter top.

"Tiring" she said sighing, "but very productive" she continued resting her arms on the counter.

"We were able to track and arrest one of the biggest arms dealer of the city, the one they call "King"

She took a sip of water from the glass he'd just put on front of her "It was not an easy task, those guys are like ghosts..." she took another sip "but well, no one can hide from me for very long" she said with a grin.

"But, what about the other three 'emperors'?" The cafe owner started after drinking some coffee from a cup under the counter, "aren't they going to move now that one of them has fallen?"

Caitlyn took a moment to think whilst looking at the ceiling and then answered.

"Well, yes. We're expecting a response from them, but it's hard to know what's going to be, whether they're going to vanish from the city or show their faces and start a war"

"And that's what you guys are looking for? A war?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"No" she said, anticipating that question, "We"re looking for order, and that's not easy to reach. Those bastards had reigned over Piltover's underworld for far too long, if we're going to take them down, we need to begin somewhere, right?"

She slapped the balcony top sharply to signal the end of that conversation "Now" she said, calmly "Could you, please bring me one of those new vanilla flavored cupcakes? I'm been looking for tasting one for the whole week"

Doug stood a little taken back by her sudden change of tone "Well, anything else?" he said

"Yes" she answered, now cheerfully "Could you recommend me a nice tea to 'harmonize' with it" She giggled of her own joke, Doug just turned around and entered the kitchen Cait opened her case and picked her mobile phone, the clock on the screen was marking 19:55, she looked through the window to see the sun still shining brightly "Almost eight o'clock and you're still up there huh? I hate summer, really" she thought Having her attention again to the phone, she saw a new message popping up, it was Vi, asking whether she wanted to go to a night club later, Caitlyn took a second to think, but she was already decided about it, she was way too tired, the only thing she wanted to do after leaving the cafe was having a warm bath and then sleeping all night.  
She opened the conversation and typed an answer

"Nah, I'm so tired I can barely walk, maybe another time"

"Aw, common Cupcake, it's been ages since we hanged out together" Vi answered after a while

Caitlyn giggled after reading, she had hated that nickname at first, it made her fell somehow 'disrespected', but nowadays she didn't care, she actually kinda liked it.  
She interrupted the silly about hypothetical cupcake realizing that her actual cupcake was taking to long to come, the clock already marking 20:30.  
Quickily re-denying Vi's offer, Cait got up from the tall stall and started to walk around the cafe to search for Doug She walked along the counter, seeing some employees walking with hurry in the busy establishment, she cogitated asking one of them for the owner's location, but quickly discarded the idea, she was rather curious about his location.

"He'd never took more than 10 minutes to bring what I have ordered, and it's already half an hour" she said to herself whilst looking around "maybe he got a little mad with the way I acted?"

She continued walking till the end of the counter that extended all the way through the cafe, it had two doors at each end, standing next to the opposite door from which she, Caitlyn looked around the cafe once again searching for Doug's location, just in time for seeing a boy entering from the other door, carrying a huge wooden box, and being followed close by Doug who carried a similar one.  
Caitlyn saw them walking in with a slightly annoyed look on her face, she quickly started walking in their direction stepping decidedly. Doug was setting the box on the kitchen's entrance, sweat was rolling down his face as he left the box on top of the one the boy had put on the floor

"How do you carry those things?" The tall man asked with an astonished face.

The boy giggled "just lift a few every day and you'll get used to it in no time"

"Think I'll have to pass it" Doug said before taking a huge sip from his water bottle. "Anyway" he continued "Those two are the only ones, so how much will it..." He stopped, looking to the other side of the cafe, seeing Caitlyn walking quickly on his direction with an annoyed expression.

Doug could just look at the approaching woman with widened eyes, h'd completely forgotten her order.

"Remember me Doug?" she started talking with a skeptical smile "You know, the girl who ordered some tea and a cupcake like, an hour ago?" Caitlyn wasn't actually mad, it was just the first time she'd seen the Cafe owner committing an error, he always liked to brag about how everything he did was flawless, so she just wanted to tease him a little

"That's some serious mistake you know, to leave one of your regular costumers waiting for this much time" Cait said half laughing, Doug was just looking straight at her with regret in his eyes, while the boy behind him was just openly laughing. He approached Doug putting a hand on his shoulder "You can pay me later man, it seems you already have something to deal with" he said almost whispering, then turning around and leaving, blinking to Caitlyn, she smiled back at him. Doug took a moment to gather his strenght, then he just did a little bow and said quite loudly

"I'm deeply sorry for making you wait, Cait I swear this is never going to happen again" Cait just bursted in laughter with his exaggerated apologize "There's no need for this, Doug I was just kidding with you. I was just surprised that once in your life you forgot about something" She said still laughing "Ah" was the only thing Doug as able to say, he'd been totally fooled with her acting, he stood there spacing for a little while more and then said

"Well, I'll go get your order and then you can continue your mocking"

"Oh, alright" she said smiling as she watched him entering the kitchen, she sat on one of the tall stalls resting her chin on her left-hand waiting until Doug appeared with the cupcake and a boiling cup of tea, she smiled on anticipation as he put the dessert on front of her

"This one is on the house" he said as a form of apology

"oh, thanks I've been looking forward to tasting this all..." she started, but got interrupted by the loud noise of an alarm.

She took one second to realize what was happening, then she quickly rushed for case and opened the door "gotta go" Caitlyn said to him while leaving, he just nodded, astonished.  
Caitlyn stepped on the sidewalk, looking around searching for the alarm's source, she realized it was coming from a big tech store that stood up the road, the kind of store that had a lot of guards in it, she felt a chill down her spine

"Who'd be crazy enough to rob a shop like this one in broad daylight?" She said to herself while hastily opening her case and assembling her rifle, she rested it on her shoulder and rushed to the store, her hair swaying with the wind.  
Stopping almost on front of the shop, she crouched with one knee on the ground, took a moment to catch her breath while looking around.

"Officer" a man standing beside the entrance called "you're late officer Caitlyn" the man continued "they already escaped"

"Who?" Cait asked "Who escaped?"

"Those punks who stole from us" the man started angrily "those three broke into the store and stole a very valuable hextech implement, you need to get it back"

"Did you see where they went?" she asked hastily

"I saw them running into that alley" he answered, pointing to the opposite side of the street.

"Right" she said, running.  
While repassing the city's map on hep mind, Cait entered the alley. She knew that city like the back of her hand, she needed to know, in order to optimize any chase, she needed to recognize every single alleyway as it was part of her own house. She quickly understood their escape route, and went to its direction, unless they entered some building, the robbers could have only headed to one place. Caitlyn walked slowly into the small pass that stood in the middle of three building, it had become a very famous place among small lifters, because of how hard to perceive that it was there. She sneaked with her rifle up, and saw them, the "punks" as the manager said, were only children, two boys and a girl, all around eight years old.

"Oh great, she said to herself" "So I've been chasing kids" she sighed "Well, kids or not, they stole, so they'd receive the proper punishment for it" Caitlyn prepared her net and shot quickly, catching the three of them inside it, they screamed in surprise and started to struggle to escape from the heavy net, she approached them slowly, analyzing the situation. She could just retrieve the device and forget about the children.  
She cogitated the option for a while but discarded it, someone must had ordered them to steal it, she needed to ask them some questions.. And that douchebag manager would probably want someone to put the blame on. She looked at the little robbers, one of the boys gave up struggling and just accepted his fate, sobbing quietly. While the other two continued their effort, to no avail. She didn't really want to handcuff children, but it was her duty. She knelt down while opening the handcuff "I'm sorry kids, but you'll have to come.." She started but went mute when she felt something pressing against her back.  



	2. Crow

Caitlyn stiffened as she felt the pressure against her back, pressing between her shoulder blades, two pipes that stood alongside each other, she quickly recognized what it was, a double-barrell shotgun.  
A voice came from the one pointing the gun at her, a low toned muffled voice that said.  
"Freeze, Sheriff"

Her heart stopped for a second, and then started beating as fast as it could. Trying to rapidly analyze the situation, she thought about what were the man's intention, some of King's man retaliating his boss arrest? Maybe he was acting by order of one of the other three emperors? Or.. Caitlyn threw away those thoughts about his motivation because she realized she had one priority, that was getting out of this alive. She checked the resources she had on hand, and mentally cursed, she had left everything but her rifle on the case, all that involved close combat, her teaser, the stinger, everything. Caitlyn was at a crouching position, which made a quick turnaround even harder. All those thoughts that passed through her head in merely some seconds, made her come to a conclusion, there was no escape.

She's got careless, careless because of the success of the arrest, that she didn't even think about a retaliation this fast, she didn't even cogitate that these children were only a decoy, a decoy leading to a trap, a trap which she'd dived in, and now she was going to pay the price.  
She felt a knot form on her throat, anger fell over her, as she remembered how that bastard had called her "Sheriff", as if it was some kind of mockery. But then Caitlyn just lowered her head, giving up. "So this is my end?" she whispered to herself "it's a goddamn double barrel, it'll pierce my chest like it is nothing" her eyes were heavy with tears, she just closed her eyes and waited.

"Release the children"

Caitlyn almost turned around, astonished by his words she blinked twice "W-What?" she said reluctantly

"Release those children, now" he repeated calmly

Caitlyn mumbled on her movements but managed to lean forward and started to loose the net that bound the children, her mind going a thousand miles per hour

"So he's really here because of the children? Just to save them?" she asked herself "Or.. Maybe he just does not want any witness" that idea made her efforts to release the children slow down, but she quickly picked up the pace, doing her best to keep calm.

After a while, she managed to loose the net, and the children hastily got out.

"Go, all of you, stay together and hide" the man said in a no-question tone

The three of them ran out of the alley, their steps fading in the distance

"Get up" he ordered

Caitlyn slowly got up, refraining the urge to pick up her rifle

"Now walk" he continued

She walked slowly still feeling the gun aimed at her back The short clatter of metal resounded as the man picked up the device that the children had left on the ground Caitlyn continued walking until she was very close to one of the walls of the alley, she was standing with her arms on the side of her body, she would take that moment to act and take down that guy, in the spam of a second she mentalized what she would do: first, she would hastily turn around and push the gun against the man's stomach, taking his hand of the trigger and making him flinch, then she would take the gun from him and reverse the situation, simple and effective, she held her breath.  
*Clic*  
Caitlyn looked at her wrist, puzzled at the handcuff that dangled with the other end still opened She turned to him, the man stood a few feet away from her, the gun still pointed at her direction.

"Now, cuff yourself to that pipe" he pointed with the shotgun to a pipe that stood alongside one of the buildings' wall.

Caitlyn stopped and fitted him, he wore dark boots with pants in the same color, a dirty white coat that stood almost at his knees, covered a dark blue shirt. On his hands stood a pair of black leather gloves that loosely held an old but well polished shotgun, the stock was made of ebony wood, that shone with varnish, all the metal parts were of a light color, but with stains that pointed its oldness.  
But what caught most of Caitlyn's attention was the weird mask he was wearing, it consisted in a hood that covered all of his head and neck, and a mask that resembled a bird, with a long dark beak and eyes that were googles with dark lens.  
She glared at him, still standing next to the pipe, Caitlyn noticed that he stood diagonally to her, as if he was trying to the alley's entrance without having her out of his sight.  
He figured out her stubbornness to bind herself. With four long steps, he approached her, supporting the gun on his waist, he grabbed her cuffed wrist and pushed it close to the pipe.

"Close it" he said, in a more dangerous tone than before.

Caitlyn felt a chill on her spine feeling the gun pressing to her midriff, she slowly held the handcuff and closed it around the pipe with a click.  
The man glared at her, he sighed with relief and stepped back Still in his wary standing, always looking at the entrance, he took out the device from his pocket and quickly crouching, he put it on the floor a few feet away from her.

"Thank you for not making this difficult, Sheriff" he said with what seemed real gratitude.

"Oh, you're welcome" she answered with sarcasm

He cocked a brow under his mask, and smirked

"But I think I'll be taking this" he said picking her rifle and observing it

"W-what?" she was shocked "Why'd you take my gun?"

"Just a little souvenir" he answered with a chuckle "Farewell, officer Caitlyn"

He attached both guns to a small backpack that he was wearing and started to climb the fire exit of one of the buildings Caitlyn was desperate with the sight of him stealing her beloved rifle, she fumbled through the pockets of her skirt, but didn't find the keys to the cuffs.  
On the top of the edifice, he looked at her again.

"Oh, And by the way, my name is Crow" he said with a slight laugh and left

She looked at him and cursed, quickly searching around for a way to get out of there and chase down that bastard. Then she saw it, next to the device, a pair of small metal keys.  
She stretched as much as she could and was able to reach it with her foot, grateful for always wearing shorts beneath her dress, she brought the keys next to her and picked it up, quickly unlocking the cuffs and running out of the valley, still hoping to see the man jumping on the buildings.  
Seeing the city's map on her mind again, she ran through all the block, expecting to see that masked man jumping from one build to another. But she saw nothing.

"DAMN IT" she said angrily.

Tapping her foot on the ground like a child. She paced back to the alley to retrieve the device.  
With it in her hand, she gripped it tightly while talking to herself.

"You stole from the wrong person you petty thief" walking out of the alley she continued "I'm going to clip your wings in no time, you filthy crow"

Far away from there on top of a fancy church, with the mask laying on his side, the man fitted the sniper rifle.

"Why the hell I stole this?" he said to himself, with a slight laugh.


	3. Shame

Caitlyn entered the police office with determination in every step, she entered her office and called for her best men, after some minutes, half a dozen policeman stood in attention in front of her.  
"Gentleman, I called you here to talk about a particular situation that happened yesterday" she began, standing up from her chair "I got in some trouble with some thieves, I retrieved what they'd stolen but I lost my rifle on the process"

They frowned at her words, knowing how much Caitlyn prized her rifle.

"It is a very dangerous and valuable weapon, and it's very important to my job"

She continued, looking down at her table

"And not to say, that's a shame for me as the Sheriff"

She then looked up with determination

"So I need you to gather all information possible about a guy named 'Crow'. Well that's obviously not his real name, but that's how he calls himself"

She said with a mocking chuckle.

"He wears a huge white coat and a black face mask with a huge beak. Search for anything related to this guy, and then tell me"

"Yes ma'am" they answered in unison

They left the room, being instantly replaced by Vi, who entered in a hurry " 'Morning Cupcake" she greeted cheerfully "How're doing?"

Caitlyn chuckled "Vi, how many times have I told you not to call me that? Or at least, not at the office"

"Do you prefer when I call you Cupcake in the bedroom then?" Vi answered, smirking.

Caitlyn laughed at her flirt "Vi you know that literally never happened"

"Ohh, but it's funny to pretend it did happen"  
Vi said while sitting in front of her

"Indeed it is, but just when we're alone" she said, in a worried tone "don't need any weird rumors spreading, specially if that prick hear them"

Vi looked at her, her voice a little quieter

"So you guys are done for real"

Caitlyn looked at her and sighed

"Yeah we are" she leaned her elbows on the desk and pressed her face against the palm of her hands

"Or at least that's what I told him, because that prick refuses to do or listen to anything that isn't what he wants, spoiled bastard"

Vi frowned at her

"So... For him, you guys are still together?"

Caitlyn nodded "Yeah, for him. But if he goes around me again and try something I'll probably beat him up and get his rich-ass arrested" she said cheekily, trying to brighten up the strange mood that was settled.

Vi smirked maliciously at the sight of that excuse of a man getting beating up, she then looked up quickly, as if she'd remembered something "So I heard you lost your rifle, is that true?" She asked cocking up an eyebrow.

Caitlyn frowned "Yeah it is, some shit happened yesterday, even though I managed to retrieve that stupid device, the price I paid was my gun" she said angrily

"What was that device for, after all?" Vi asked.

"It is a new very modern hextech implement, something for the eye I guess" she said with a shrug "but what bothers me most is how it was done"

She said with a troubled expression

"That children would not try to rob from a prestigious store like that, not without someone telling them to do it"

Vi interrupted her

"Wait, children?" She asked astonished "And you didn't tell me how exactly you lost your rifle, care to explain?"

She said, resting her chin on her fists.  
Caitlyn explained the whole situation and how the Crow subjugated her and stole her rifle, Vi laughed slightly at the final part making Caitlyn frown.

"That's all" she asked when Cait finished, she nodded and then Vi continued "Well, it's pretty scary to know that someone is using children to do their crimes.  
And that Crow guys really seems like trouble, if he really managed to sneak up on you, he's really no ordinary thief"

Caitlyn nodded again while biting on her thumb nail, thinking.  
"Well he just showed up to release the children, and he gave the augment back, he pointed a gun at me but I was going to let it slide if it weren't for him stealing my rifle."

She got up stretching her arms up "Now it's personal"  
_

The three children stood in front of Crow, faces looking down with embarrassment and regret.  
He crouched in front of them, making the three homeless children look up

"Guys, how many times have I told not to steal carelessly" his voice filled with concern "with you need anything, just ask me or someone in the periphery market"

The girl, Aisha, answered acting as the voice of the trio

"But we want to be independent, eventually you're not going to be here to help us, so we need to learn how to do our own thing"

He bit his lip under the mask "this kid is pretty smart" he thought while she crossed her arms waiting for his answer

"Well, you say that but if it weren't for me yesterday, you guys would all be in the police station"

She flinched with his response, and angrily replied "Of course not, we would have her subjugated easily if it weren't for you appearing, right guys?"

Both of the boys nodded with conviction.

"Oh of course you would" he said with a chuckle

"I just want to ask you guys, please don't ever try to steal such a huge store again, those guys are powerful, their influence in the police could be awful if you were to get caught" he sighed "You got lucky that I was around and heard the alarm. Just, please, don't ever risk yourselves again like that" he pleaded.

"We won't" they said in unison.

"Thank you for helping us Mr Crow" the boy with black hair, Davi, said.

He gave a genuine smile that stood hiden in the mask and nodded to the child.

Then, getting up and straightening his posture, he turned his attention to the girl again

"I just wanna ask one more thing before you can go" he said in a more serious tone

They all tensed up, waiting

"Who sent you to steal that device?"

Aisha promptly answered.

"No one. We knew that it was valuable, we just went an-"

"Don't lie to me" he interrupted, like a father scolding his child

She shrank down, fear on her face

"Just tell me" he said, simply

The girl flinched, looking down

"It was Yohan" the same boy that had thanked him, suddenly spoke again

The two others looked with astonishment to him, but he didn't stop speaking

"He said that if we could steal it, he would give us half of the money he'd get by selling it"

Crow's eyes widened beneath the mask

"Yohan?" he asked "That idiot who worked directly under King's order?"

"Yes. Now he works by himself, he even said that if we could successfully steal it, he would consider giving us protection under his name." the boy said, with his eyes shining.

His blood boiled, but he calmly asked "And you know where his is setting now?"

The boy told about an old warehouse in the city's border.

Crow turned his back to them

"You may go now" he said looking over his shoulder "I think I'll have a talk with this friend of yours"  
_

Caitlyn was annoyed The research on Crow has proven to be totally unfruitful

"He is probably just a rookie" she thought, worried.

"Or maybe someone that was already known in the crime world and was trying to go by a new identity"

She was almost reaching her house, when her phone ringed She picked it up lazily

"Hello Vi, what it is?"

"Cupcake, I have some good news for you" she said cheerfully

Caitlyn stopped, leaning against a shop's wall, being caught by Vi words.

"What it is?" she asked eagerly.

"So, I was heading to the gym earlier and I saw a pickpocket robbing a woman. I quickly tackled him down and beat him up a bit" she said, with a chuckle in the end.

"Wait, you went to him unharmed?" Caitlyn asked worried.

"Oh common Cupcake, I don't need my gauntlets to beat down a mere lifter" She answered, a little offended.

"But the thing that I wanted to tell you is" she continued after a while "When I got tired of beating him and was waiting for other policeman to appear, I remembered that you spent your whole day getting info in that Crow guys, so I decided 'Why not' and asked him if he knew anything about a guy named Crow"

Vi breathed and went on "Firstly, he looked terrified when I said his name, but quickly spilled the beans"

Caitlyn's eyes were wide with expectation but her attention was caught when she saw a figure jumping over buildings, an white coat swaying with the wind.

She started running in the same direction as him, quickly dismissing Vi's call

"Vi, something is happening I really need to go" she said not waiting for Vi's response

"Wait, but I-" Vi tried to speak but Caitlyn had already put her phone away

Taking her pistol out of the holster, she chased after him.  
_

Laughter could be heard from the warehouse's interior, six man were around a table, talking and drinking The room they stood was small, probably an old office room that was empty except for the four legged round table that stood in the center, the room only had one small window that faced the warehouse's interior.  
Yohan, their leader, was speaking. A speech of how he'd take King's place now that he was in jail and how all the people that were in the room would be important to his "kingdom".

"King was careless, he underestimated the police and that filthy new Sheriff. They're not going to let us alone now, they're aiming to purge all the crime in Piltover"  
He said with a scornful laugh.

"We will need to act stealthy, and never try to work with the police again, trying to win them with bribes is way too dangerous"

He took a drag of his cigarette.

"What we need to do now is gather more men and-"

A loud crash was heard, glass shards flew all around the people in the room, forcing the men to dock to avoid it.  
Crow stormed into the room through the broken window, brutally hitting one of the men in the nape with the shotgun stock, and quickly aiming and shooting down two more of them.  
The other three men recovered from the momentary stagger and pulled out their guns.

"DAMN, IS THAT CROW FUCK"  
One of the man said desperately.

Crow didn't stop to recharge, instead he quickly charged to the man who screamed and hit him in the nose with the shotgun, making him loose the grip of the gun he held, Crow took it from his hand and shot its previous owner with it, then pointed and shot down the other man that wasn't quick enough to react.  
Yohan just looked in shock as all of his best men got annihilated, that masked man moving faster than his eyes could follow.  
Before he could shoot him down, Yohan dropped his gun and put his hands up.

"Hey, Wait"

He said despairingly as Crow looked at him, his eyes narrowing beneath the mask.

"Are you 'The Crow' right? I know your reputation, and as you showed me, you're a skilled fighter"

Yohan said, slightly scared.  
The masked man picked up his shotgun and recharged, sending a chill down Yohan's spine, but he continued speaking.

"So, you work for money right?"

Those words quickly made Crow look up, as if it had piqued his interest.  
Yohan took this as a yes, and continued, lowering his hands.

"Well, if is that what you want, I can pay as much as you want if you let me live."  
He stopped for a brief moment, seeing how the masked man stood with the left side of his body turned to him, holding the shotgun with his right hand, seeing no hostility in his body language gave Yohan confidence to keep speaking.

"And well, if you're willing to cooperate with me after this.. Unfortunate situation" he said raising his hands to elbow level "We can make even more money"

"How?"

"Well, in a lot of ways" Johan promptly answered "But mainly I'm going to continue King's work, buying guns from Zaun and re-selling it here" he scratched his chin, thinking

"Or maybe, with your help, we can steal some advanced weapons from some research facilities here in Piltover"

"And what else?" Crow asked, tilting his head

"There's some simpler stuff, like small robs and blackmail for 'protection'" He said with a shrug

"Oh and lately I tried to hire some kids on the streets to do a risky rob in a tech store, they haven't contacted me yet, but I think they actually succeed"

"How much you paid them?"

"Nothing actually, I just promised them a place beside me, and they went happily to do the job" he chuckled

"Well of course I'm not going to give them anything, I will just get the device I got them to steal and disappear, who are they to complain?"

Crow pulled the table back up and seated on it "You're telling a lot of stuff to someone that you don't even know the face" he said, laying the gun on top of the table.

"Well, I really do want you to join me, I've never seen someone as capable as you" Johan said with a deceiving smile

"You told me about those kids" Crow spoke as he reached the back of his head, beneath the hood, unfastening his mask "Have you wondered how I got to you?"

"Wha-?"

Yohan eyes widened as Crow got up from the table, his mask falling to the floor, the shotgun on his hand. He quickly tackled the man against the wall, pushing the gun's muzzle underneath the man's chin.

"You know the legend about those who saw my face, right Yohan?" Crow said, staring coldly at him. Yohan's eyes widened even further, he opened his mouth to speak, but he was forced shut by the gun that the shorter man wielded.

"Deceiving kids to do the dirty job for you? What a shame".

"Wait, I-"

"No more excuses" Crow interrupted him mid sentence

"See you in hell"

He pulled the trick, instantly killing the other criminal, scattering his blood all over the room. 


	4. Justice

Crow sighed, looking at the headless corpse that lied in from of him, them he looked around, sighing again.

"What a mess, goddammit"

He lied his shotgun near Johan dead body, quickly searching for his mask, he crouched and picked it up, he glared at the mask

"That's what people think about Crow?"

He turned it around at slowly brought it to his face.

"That I work for money?"

He fastened it to the back of his head, feeling that his hands were wet, he brought them up to elbow level, observing the crimson red blood that stained them.

"I think that's the price th-"

"FREEZE"

His monologue was suddenly interrupted by a sudden shout, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even noticed her presence there until she shouted.  
The door was still closed, so she must have entered through the window, just like him.  
He looked at her, Caitlyn was on her usual purple dress, her top hat was at the brink of falling and her face was red.

"She probably rushed to get here"

He thought, tilting his head to the side

"If it weren't for the fact that she was pointing a gun at me, she looked gorgeous. Or maybe that only made her prettier"

He giggled

"I said put your hands up" she repeated

"Did you?" he asked sincerely since he had not heard it.

Caitlyn's face got redder, but now with anger

"Listen, stop playing around or you'll end up shot"

"Alright" he said, slowly putting his hands up "Now what?"

"Now you'll stand still like a good boy while I call for reinforcements"

"Reinforcements? Am I too much for you, Sheriff?" Crow said with a sly smile on his face

"Oh, mocking are we?" she said, not impressed with his teasing.

"You've taken down six armed men all by yourself, with a double-barrel shotgun, in a place with little to no places to cover and recharge. You may take this as a compliment Birdy, but I'm not going to underestimate you"

"I appreciate your compliment Sheriff. Even though the 'Birdy' part made me very sad"

"Well, your feelings matched my intentions" she said while she pulled out her phone from her pocket.

While still holding the gun at shoulder level with the other hand, Caitlyn looked at her phone for a second.

"Don't stop looking at me Sheriff, or I'll get jealous" Crow said, feinting a step forward.

Caitlyn looked up, and without much thought, shot in his direction.  
Crow froze, not feeling the hood on his head anymore.

"The next one is going to be on your leg, so you better behave"

He slowly nodded, dumbfounded by her quick but precise shot.

"Can I wear it back?" he asked, a little scared by her now.

"Go ahead" she answered, fitting his night black hair.

Caitlyn brought her phone to her ear, her gaze never diverting from the masked man.

"Vi?" she said after a while "Come to my localization I have subdued Crow"  
She didn't wait for the answer, quickly hanging up on Vi again, and sending her own GPS localization.

"Just her?" Crow asked, seeming disappointed.

"Oh my dear, calling Vi herself is probably me overestimating you. There's no one that can go against the both of us" she looked up, as if some memory had just popped up "Actually... Never mind"

He lifted one eyebrow, but said nothing about it.

"Interesting, you said you had me subdued, but look at me, I'm free" he mocked, shaking his hands in the air.

"I think you should search for the definition of 'subdue' in the dictionary" she shot back, remembering that she didn't have any handcuffs with herself for that matter.  
Crow transferred his weight from one leg to another, anxiety all over him.

"Well Sheriff, while we wait for your reinforcements, why don't we talk?"

"Weren't we talking until now?"

He giggled

"So, Hat Lady, why do you think I did this? He asked, gesticulating with his arms and head to the bloodied room.

"First, call me that again and my next shot is going straight between your legs" she breathed deep "And second, I think you're just a very well-paid assassin or just some competent underling doing cleaning job"  
He laughed

"You upset me, Sheriff. But well, thanks for the competent part, I try my best"

She frowned.

"Do you know who this guy is?" He pointed with his chin to Johan's corpse "Well, was"

Caitlyn lifted both her eyebrows, waiting.

"That's Johan, he used to be one of King's underlings, apparently he left before his boss got arrested. Maybe he noticed that he was going to get busted, or he was the cause of it, personally I don't care".

He took a subtle step to the side, Caitlyn noticed but ignored, raising her chin she encouraged him to proceed

"And why you killed him? King commanded you from inside the prison?"

"I have nothing to do with King, Sheriff". His words coated with disgust.

"You see, I had a little conversation with Johan before killing him"

Crow turned around, facing the said man corpse

"This excuse of a man dropped his gun the moment I took down the last of his crooks. And after begging me for mercy, and somehow coming to the conclusion that I work for money, he asked if I'd like to join him, saying that whether we worked together, we'd make a lot of money, blablabla, bullshit."

Turning around while saying the last part, Crow stood with half of his body turned to the dead body, as if to watch him.

Caitlyn narrowed her eyes, thinking about his words and his current pose.

"He stopped like that in the alley too" She thought

"But today there isn't another entrance for him to watch over. Weird. Well, maybe he just plays volleyball on his spare time"

She laughed out of her own thoughts.

"What's funny Sheriff?" He asked, his voice dead serious.

"Just remembered something. Go ahead"

He frowned, was she mocking him? He turned to her completely.

"Actually Sheriff, after that, would you like to know how I got here?"

She shrugged "On your feet I suppose" she answered, lifting one eyebrow.

He ignored and continued "I went and talked to that children that I saved from you"

Caitlyn's expression instantly went hard.

"They said that Johan had hired them and if they succeeded on their task, he would have them as his underlings, or something like that."

He scratched his neck, lazily

"I got a little annoyed by this and came here immediately, not even caring about people following me or anything. So that's probably why you're here"

He moved to side again, this time going unnoticed by Caitlyn, the woman way too immersed on his words to perceive such a subtle move.

"And he confirmed the story for me when we were talking, he said that he'd fool them, even if they succeeded. Bastard."

Caitlyn glared at him, the smell of blood was getting her nauseous, she stood thinking like this for several seconds.

"So you went here and killed all of them. What do you have to gain from this?"

He giggled. "Nothing actually. When I do this kind of thing I usually get all the money they had and I donate it to charity"

Caitlyn laughed "Do you really think I'm going to believe you did this just for 'justice'?"

"Is it that hard to believe? I have all the receipts of the donations, if you want to see."

"Show me then"

He flinched "Not right now, of course, I don't go around carrying receipts" He breathed deep, holding his head up

"Sheriff, you believe it or not, the truth is that I do what I do because I believe it's the right thing to be done"

Caitlyn looked puzzled "And what exactly do you do?"

"I hunt down criminals that committed any out of the line crime, and I personally eliminate them"

"Oh so you act as a vigilante?" She said, skepticism on her voice.

"More or less. I don't usually spot crimes, I just go after them after I have enough proofs of their actions"

"And what is 'enough proof' for you to bluntly murder someone?"

He smiled beneath the mask "Well that's my crime. I see myself as the judge, jury and executioner"

Crow moved to the side again, Caitlyn narrowed her eyes, she was way too concentrated on their conversation to perceive that his left foot stood behind the gun that Johan dropped.

"I'm actually a fan of yours, Sheriff. I admire how you managed to change the city, even more with this faulted law that we have."

He looked up, straightening his mask

"So I'm sorry I have to do this".

He said the last word while kicking the fallen gun on Caitlyn's direction, hitting the pistol she held and giving space for Crow to close the distance between then and hold her wrists.  
Crow pushed her until her back hit the wall, the pistol flew from her hands with the impact.

Caitlyn looked fiercely at his googles, even that up close, she couldn't see his eyes. The beak of his mask was almost touching her nose. Realizing the immense difference of strength between them, she didn't even bother struggling to get him off her.

"You smell nice" she said subtly "Smells like cinnamon, do you use any perfume?"

Crow frowned "Are you not frightened?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Oh, of course not" she said with a confident smile "I have the situation totally under control"

Crow narrowed his eyes, he forced her arms even more against the wall, her expression changed a little, and he saw all she was feigning.

"Oh, buying time, of course"

She tried to use that bit of time to knee him on the crotch, but he saw through it, stepping closer and binding her legs.

"Thanks for remembering that I'm low on time, Sheriff. I'll be going now. He twisted her around, pressing her arm against her back.  
She heard the familiar *clic* and felt cold steel around her wrist

"I borrowed these from you last time, so I'm giving it back."

He pulled her and closed the other end of the handcuff on a metal part of the shattered window, then he rushed and picked up his shotgun.

"I hope I can cuff with you with your consent the next time we meet, Sheriff" he got her hat, that had fallen when he pushed her, and put it on top of her head.

Caitlyn took a while to process what he had said, her face burning red the moment she realized "You're going to rot in a cell" she said coldly.

"Looking forward to it" he shot back, jumping out the window "goodbye".

Ten minutes later, Vi appeared, just to see Caitlyn struggling to take off the cuffs that bid her. She approached the blue haired woman, and with her gauntlets, she easily broke the metal part that was attached to the window.

"Cait?" Vi said, reluctantly.  
"I'm sorry Vi, I let him go again, he managed to get me out of my cool, and escaped"

Vi smiled, optimistically

"It's ok, the next time this guy is busted"

"You bet he is" Caitlyn said, determined.

They got out of the building, Vi suddenly lifted her head, as if she remembered something. "Oh, I have to continue telling you what I started on the phone, when you hanged up on me" Caitlyn looked at her, silently telling her to continue "So, that guy that I arrested told that this Crow guy..." 


End file.
